1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an epicardial heartwire (also called a temporary myocardial pacing wire or stimulation lead), a combination of a chest tube and an epicardial heartwire, and a method of using the same.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, heartwires are positioned epicardially to the myocardium and stitched or passed through a myocardial tunnel. Typically, they stay between one and seven days in the myocardium, usually for 1-2 days, and preferably less than 7 days, after open-heart surgery. Before the patient is released from the hospital, the heartwires are pulled out of the myocardium.
A problem that occurs sometimes is that, during the pullout process, the myocardial tissue is injured or disturbed and starts bleeding again. Also, since epicardial heartwires are normally placed underneath the skin in the form of a loop, the loop of a wire being pulled out may catch a vein or other structure, which can be fatal for the patient. This risk is especially dangerous when a loop of wire becomes tangled around a vein graft, which may moreover have metallic clips applied at its branching sites.
There is a need for an improved arrangement which can avoid the foregoing problems.